Report: Unai Emery to Name Petr Cech as Club Captain, Alerts Trio Who Could Leave

Unai Emery has named the five players who he has instated as captains for this season, as Petr Cech appears to have won the title as the club's first choice goalkeeper, despite the summer arrival of Bernd Leno.

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has named the five players who he has instated as captains for this season, as Petr Cech appears to have won the title as the club's first choice goalkeeper, despite the summer arrival of Bernd Leno. 

The Gunners new boss is eager to start a new chapter at the Emirates on a positive note as he looks to his senior players to take ownership of his vision on the field. 

The north London side start their Premier League campaign against the reigning champions Manchester City on Sunday and in the absence of injured defender Laurent Koscielny - who Emery named as his club captain despite a long-term injury - the Gunners boss has picked out a leadership group of four other players. 

Cech is one of those names and, according to the Telegraph, he is expected to be handed the armband at the Emirates, ensuring £22m summer arrival Leno will start his Arsenal career on the bench. 

The Arsenal stopper is backed by Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and Granit Xhaka in the leadership group, a decision which was explained during Emery's pre-match press conference. 

“In my career, I want leaders in the team. The representation for every player and in every time in the season [there is] the capacity to do that," Emery said. “Maybe there will be more ­leaders in the team to show this ­captaincy, not just in the captains’ group. But these five players are in this possibility to be the captain.

“It’s a new way, a new process,” he continued. “The past is very important for this club with the people who were working here.

“But we are starting a new way, a new process with the same players and the new players, the new coaches. Keeping a lot of the good ideas they were working on here, and also bringing a new time to ­improve in the tactical things under my idea to transmit to the players my spirit and, in this way, the energy in the moment we need that.”

Moreover, the Gunners boss ruled out a summer move for Danny Welbeck as he added: “We only have three players: Carl Jenkinson, David Ospina and Joel Campbell, with the possibility to leave. But the other ­players are with us.”